From Crow:
Dig a hole. I have found the little plastic orange shovel is useless for digging a hole. When the digging is good, my foot, a stick, or a rock will work just as well and when the digging is hard, the shovel is worthless. When the digging is hard, I look for natural holes like uprooted trees, or turn over rocks that have sunk into the earth.
For toilet paper, I use a stick or rock big enough to keep my hands away from any chance of fecal contamination. There is speculation that it isn’t the water that makes hikers sick but their own feces.
For when I feel a need for toilet paper, I carry a few paper towels in a ziplock sandwich bag. When I’m in a situation were a stick won’t do, paper towels work much better than toilet paper, travel better, and can be wetted for a more thorough cleaning. It is thought of as a good practice to pack out any paper that you use. You can however, bury it if you wish, confident that you won’t be causing any more harm to the environment then encasing it in plastic and carrying it with you. Some people have burnt it and caused huge forest fires. (there is a sign on the PCT that says, “this forest fire started by a PCT thru-hiker burning his toilet paper†) If there is any chance of fecal contamination to my hands, I bring out my wash kit and wash them.
If I have used the hole from an uprooted tree, there is lots of loose soil to bury my poo in. If I have used the hole from a rock, I rake what surface duff and dead leaves I can find over the poo and put the rock back on top of all of it.
As The Crow Flies» Blog Archive » How to poo in the woods.
I’ve never had to resort to a stick as TP, myself. I burn the toilet paper. Carefully. And cover with the biggest, flattest rock I can find to try to prevent the evidence being dug up by critters. I always keep the TP, lighter and hand sanitizer together in one emergency ziplock. And use the sanitizer before and after.
Recently we had mandatory human waste pack-out bags for climbing Mt. Adams, Washington. Those were a great source of amusement for our group, three of whom had never used them before.
I had. And donated an odor proof, leak proof kayak bag for carrying our “droppings”. For some reason people packed it down in plastic bags, one of which broke.
Oops.
related: How to Shit in the Woods – Amazon
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